What is the award for?

This award is designed to recognise the skills of individuals involved in the management and implementation of marketing projects in the UK public passenger transport industry.

The judges were looking for a person who demonstrated effective thinking, implementation and leadership skills in marketing that produced identifiable results for their employer and for the general benefit of the future of the public passenger transport industry.

The Winner

• Matthew Wooll, First in Berkshire

Matthew has used his experience and operational knowledge to improve: passenger growth, customer service, passenger information, services to customers, reduce passenger complaints and utilise modern technology to help promote services.  Heading a small team he is certainly worthy of recognition for his demonstrable actions in marketing First Group bus services in Berkshire.

Runner Up

• John Everill, Diamond Bus Company

John has brought a fresh, innovative and unique talent to the predictable world of bus marketing.  In less than a year the Diamond brand has been re-designed and displayed in a variety of stylish, and humourous images, all backed by professional research, and sheer hard work.  He deserves recognition for brightening up the bus brand in the Midlands and beyond.

Highly Commended

• Louise Blyth, CrossCountry

Louise Blyth is Head of Marketing at CrossCountry.  A creative, strategic thinker and marketing professional,  Louise has a track record of introducing outstanding campaigns that have fired the imagination of CrossCountry's customers.  2009 is a key year for CrossCountry's marketing activity - Louise's drive and creativity will be vital.

 

 

• Claire Johnson, First in Manchester

Claire Johnson has led the First Manchester marketing team since 2006 and made a tremendous difference to their quality and success of marketing at one of the country's busiest bus companies.  Her success has been rewarded with promotion to Commercial Manager and Executive Board seat - which, aged 27, makes her the youngest First manager to hold such an important role.

The Judges' Verdict

The judges were very taken by the innovative work done by Matthew Wooll in a wide range of initiatives – covering promotion, fares and ticketing and service development. His personal commitment to the delivery of quality in operations, as well as to marketing, has contributed to the growth achieved by the business.

The judges were enormously impressed by the work done by John Everill and his team in the rebranding and turning round the company during 2008 following its acquisition from Go-Ahead. His use of humour and style in the promotional material and a solid core of customer research have contributed to this high-profile and successful project.

Louise Blyth's performance in delivering a highly successful marketing campaign for the new Cross Country rail franchise also attracted high praise. The judges felt that she had demonstrated a wide range of skills in both marketing and management, and her work was genuinely highly commendable.

Claire Johnson's was another high quality entry in this very strong field. The judges were greatly impressed by her commitment both to her work and to her own professional development, both of which have been recognised by her promotion to Commercial Manager. The campaigns she has devised and led have shown considerable imagination and ingenuity in getting the message across in a crowded urban marketplace.

Who could be nominated?

This award was open to anybody working in a marketing, sales, advertising or public relations role within organisations associated with the public passenger transport industry in its widest sense. Nominees could therefore include people working for operators, local authorities, manufacturers, consultancies or industry suppliers. Since the award is for professionals, authority members or other politicians are not eligible for this category.

... and by whom?

Anybody working in the industry, or as marketing professionals in companies or organisations working with transport operators - though the nominee’s consent to the nomination needs to be obtained and demonstrated.

Criteria and Entry Requirements

The Marketing Award will be won by the marketing professional in an operating company, local authority, partnership or other organisation that can show how the spirited use of marketing methods for which they have been responsible has achieved identiable benefits: the winning professional will have delivered a project or projects that have an outstanding quality that fired the imagination of customers.

The judging will be based on the quality of the submissions made, which should: 

• Describe the nominee's role and status within the organisation
• Demonstrate the nominee's role in
• Setting of the organisation's overall marketing strategy
• Planning specific campaigns or initiatives
  
• Demonstrate the nominee's effective management of these tasks, including
  
• team and project management
• liaison with and management of outside professional advisers
• the execution of the campaign and the analysis of its results
• Describe how the campaign was monitored and measured, with statistical evidence of its effectiveness

Terms of Entry

In order to qualify, the nominee is required to:

• Have worked in, or with, the industry for a continuous period of more than 12 months prior to nomination
• Possess a clean disciplinary record for at least 12 months prior to the date of nomination 
• Have no unspent criminal convictions
• Countersign the nomination form to signify their agreement to their nomination for the award.